How have the new additions to the Georgia transfer portal fared against their former teams?

Trevor Etienne I've traveled to Jacksonville twice in the last two years with the intention of ruining Georgia's day. Saturday will be a role reversal for Etienne, although he won't be the first Georgia Player who is in this position.

Etienne's decision to transfer to Georgia meant he would face his former team in one of the Bulldogs' rivalry games. While Etienne's situation is still unique in college football, it's happening more and more at a Georgia program that hasn't hesitated to sign top transfer talent.

While Etienne will be the talk of the town when the two teams meet, the junior running back sounded like he was looking forward to the de facto reunion.

“Man, I’m really excited about this. I meet some former teammates. It's nothing but love for these boys,” Etienne said afterward Texas Game. “I can’t wait to go out and compete against my friends, my brothers.”

Etienne doesn't seem too worried about it Floridawhat music has to be for Kirby Smart's ears. Smart praised Etienne as a talented, level-headed person and Smart said Etienne's experience helped him get started in Athens. Smart said Florida's offensive system isn't much different than Georgia's, which also helped with the transition.

For Smart, the advice for someone in Etienne's position is to focus on the task at hand.

“You don’t want to get caught up in emotions and be emotional. I don’t think that helps anyone,” Smart said. “[Dominic Lovett has] I went through it Missouri a few times and different players [have as well]. That’s part of college football now. We've had children go there before, so it doesn't affect us too much. I mean, what's going to make you play well at the end of the day? There is no need to worry about this.

According to Smart, Georgia has been through this before. Etienne is expected to be the fourth Bulldog during the Smart era in Athens to play against his former team. Etienne hopes to become the fourth Georgia player to boast bragging rights with his former squad.

The most recent example of a Bulldog competing against his former team was Lovett competing against his former Missouri teammates in Athens last November. Lovett said he was looking forward to the game a few weeks before the game, and he came through for his new team with four receptions for 33 yards and a touchdown in the Bulldogs' 30-21 win.

Smart said after the game that he thought it meant a lot to him that Lovett found the end zone against the Tigers.

“There were a lot of players out there who hugged him afterward. He’s such a great teammate and competitor that I know it meant a lot to him, but it also meant a lot to them,” Smart said. “It can be emotional. We have talked about two things that cause you to lose discipline, namely the loss of emotions and the loss due to fatigue. And you don't allow fatigue to set in because you lose discipline. You don't allow emotions to arise because you have lost discipline, and he didn't do that today. I'm really proud of him.

Derion Kendrick faced the unique challenge of facing his former team in his first game as a Bulldog when Georgia fell foul of him Clemson in the 2021 season opener. Kendrick did his part in the low-scoring situation by recording three tackles in the Bulldogs' 10-3 win in Charlotte.

Eli Wolf met his former team in 2019 when the Bulldogs went to Knoxville to face Tennessee. Wolf's numbers were modest – he caught two passes for 18 yards against the Volunteers – but his efforts helped the Bulldogs return home with a 43-14 victory.

Smart and his staff tend to target portal players with SEC experience, and that sometimes leads to confrontations with their former teams. That scenario didn't stop Georgia from pursuing Etienne, and the Bulldogs are hoping the end result is the talented tailback finally walking off the field with a win in Jacksonville.